I recently had the honor to be commissioned by the lovely @lbardugo to draw her a witchsona, although can it really be a witchsona when she appears so bewitching all the time? She is such a kind andlovely person and a great writer, I can’t help but love all her characters and the richness and depth she manages to put in all her stories. I can’t wait to read what she have to bless us with in the future. <3 <3 <3

hey guys, just thought i’d whip together a list of some of my favourite authors most motivational quotes. i especially love using these in bullet journal spreads. hope everyone is having a wonderful new year!

oscar wilde

“we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”

“always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much”

“with freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?”

“to love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance”

“be yourself; everyone else is already taken”

“to live is the rarest thing in the world. most people exist, that is all”

“it is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it"

"you can never be overdressed or overeducated”

“yes: i am a dreamer. for a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world”

fyodor dostoyevsky

"there is no subject so old that something new cannot be said about it"

“power is given only to those who dare to lower themselves and pick it up. only one thing matters, one thing; to be able to dare”

“happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it”

“the cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month”

“to live without hope is to cease to live”

james joyce

“i am tomorrow, or some future day, what i establish today. i am today what i established yesterday or some previous day”

“a man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors… are the portals of discovery”

“he found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible”

“life is the great teacher”

charles dickens

“the sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on”

“there are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast”“a loving heart is the truest wisdom”

“i ask only to be free. the butterflies are free”

“we forge the chains we wear in life”

“an idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself”

“no one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else”

franz kafka

“start with what is right, rather than with what is acceptable”

“anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old”

“logic may indeed be unshakeable, but it cannot withstand a man who is determined to live”

“a book should serve as the axe for the frozen sea within us”

“believing in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made”

“my ‘fear’ is my substance, and probably the best part of me”

ivan turgenev

“we sit in the mud, my friend, and reach for the stars”

“if we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin”

“time sometimes flies like a bird, and sometimes crawls like a worm, but people may be unusually happy when they do not even notice if time has gone quickly or slowly”

“don’t be ruled by others; to belong to oneself- the whole savour of life lies in that”

Obviously, there are the really popular ones, but I thought I might share some hidden jems out there. I’m putting this under the read because it got a lot longer than expected.

Barbie Girl by Shipstiel (2K, T) >> Just a really cute soulmate au where you can hear your soulmates thoughts. In which Lance is really just an accident waiting to happen and annoys the hell out of Keith. It has a companion fic called Of Pokemon and Moon Landings.

I Was Born a Lion by spectralphobia (O, G)>> This comic is so cool! And the plotline is really detailed. Whilst klance does appear, it’s not the main focus. But this is really such a great read!

everything,everything by makasouls (5K,T) ( @makasouls)>> Just a really jealous and salty Keith because the Cuban cinnamon roll won’t flirt with him. It’s really fluffy and has one of my favourite tropes of pining Keith in it.

i just made this announcement over on twitter, but like, let’s be real, i’ve been on this horrible blue hell site since i was 16 - and i’m turning 24 on sunday, so that’s essentially a third of my life, yikes - and you guys are wonderful and i love you and you deserve to hear it here first. so.

as most of you know, i finished my first manuscript earlier this year, and i’ve been reservedly liveblogging the absurdly nerve-wracking process of querying agents and throwing my novel out to the wolves.

and i’m so happy to finally be able to tell you that i’ve accepted an offer of literary representation from brooks sherman of janklow & nesbit associates.

i first became aware of brooks a couple of years ago when my best friend lena, who was loyally and devotedly beta-reading one of my early drafts, suggested i check out becky albertalli’s “simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda.” she thought simon was an exemplary gay ya romance, exactly the kind of thing i was hoping to do. and she was right: simon instantly became one of my favourite books, and becky became one of my favourite authors. i pledged to myself that when i finally worked up the nerve to start talking to agents, i would talk to the guy who helped make simon happen.

but it took a long time. like, a long time. i started writing “teenage victory song” - the name of my novel, a contemporary gay YA love story, hopefully coming soon to a bookstore near you! - back in 2013. specifically, during an 11:30 PM gchat with grace on wednesday, december 11, 2013, which i have archived for historical preservation. so grace is getting the dedication when this thing goes out, naturally. but, yeah, i started writing it in 2013, and only just finished it this spring, and only with the help of some truly incredible people and loyal friends and family - way too many to name here, but you know who you are, and thank you. i love you. if i hadn’t had your love and your support to battle the little grey cloud of depression and trauma and persistent economic instability that hangs over me 24/7, i’d never have gotten this far. writing this book, and keeping myself mentally healthy and happy enough to finish it, is the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do.

i also need to thank benjamin alire saenz, andre alexis, dennis bock, anne michaels, and mallory ortberg for reading various permutations of this manuscript and believing in it and giving me their writerly advice on it. i love all y’all. and, of course, major, major thanks to the lambda literary association, who do so much incredible work for so many lgbt authors, and to whom i will be forever in debt.

i just don’t have words for the fact that brooks read my manuscript and said yes, that he said wow, that he believes in me and in what i’m trying to do with my writing. he represents so many authors whose work i’ve been continually blown away by, and it is patently ridiculous and surreal that i get to stand next to them now? i’ve already mentioned becky albertalli, whose work has done so much to humanize young lgbt people and to normalize gay love for a mainstream audience. or adam silvera, who just put queer boys of colour on the new york times bestsellers list with “they both die at the end,” which i am presently reading and crying over and having my internal organs ripped out by. and last, but definitely not fucking least, angie thomas, who wrote “the hate u give,” very possibly the most important young adult novel of the last twenty years, a heartbreaking and compassionate and warmly funny complete and total masterwork that i inhaled in less than two days. like, i really don’t. have words. these are people who have been heroes of mine for so long. i just started actually crying so i’m going to have to wrap this up lmao.

i grew up in an intensely homophobic and conservative christian household, and when i was probably eleven or twelve i somehow came into possession of a copy of “a great and terrible beauty” by libba bray. i don’t remember anything about it except that it had a subplot involving two girls who kissed each other on the mouth, and when they kissed each other on the mouth, i was so viscerally horrified that i started bawling, and i stood up, walked upstairs to the garbage disposal, and tore the book apart with my bare hands. watched the pages filter down into the garbage. and i don’t, like. i don’t like to damage books. i don’t even fold corners because i don’t like to crease the pages. i still remember it all these years later because my first reaction upon recognizing myself in that kiss was to literally destroy it. and i had to keep that part of myself buried for so many years. reading lgbt ya and fanfiction was some of the only escape i had. i wasn’t able to come out until i was eighteen years old, and when i did, it ultimately meant becoming estranged from my mother forever.

i have so much love and tenderness and compassion for all those previous, wounded versions of me, who went through so much, who hated themselves so much, who spent so much of their teens and early twenties being depressed and closeted and suicidal and dreaming of the day when they might get to be an author. you fucking did it, buddy. i love you so much and i am so proud of everything you did to survive and keep creating.

(Sorry for the late posting!) I read some amazing fics this week, and I can’t wait to share them with you!

Open At The Touch by kiaronna, Teen, 6.5kMaybe Nishigori got ahold of a lock of Viktor’s hair, and some Polyjuice potion. Maybe it’s all an elaborate prank. With this as his only reasonable explanation, he steps forward, snags Viktor by his robes and tugs him in. There has to be an explanation, mystical and magical or medical, for the best Seeker in the Quidditch world showing up at his door; something besides his portrait, which won’t stop talking to Yuuri anyway.

I LOOOOOOOVED this HP AU! So cute and funny, and also angsty??? One of my favourite HP AUs yet!

The Roommate Trap by impolitecanadian, Mature, 2k (WIP)Victor doesn’t believe in marriage. So when Chris, his best friend and roommate of 6 years, tells him he’s going to have to move out so he can get married, Victor is reasonably upset. Good thing Victor’s upstairs neighbour is looking for a roommate and maybe a little (okay, a lot) more.

I saw this recommended to me on fan rec friday’s and I thought I would give it a shot! Already entertaining so far, I can’t wait to see what happens next! I also love how it’s set in Canada, that’s pretty cool haha!

I. AM. SOBBING. I LOVED THIS FIC SO MUCH!! The ending had me shook, laughing, crying, screaming!! I loved it!

What Now?by shereadsthestars, Mature, 15k (WIP)Viktor Nikiforov, Niki to his closest friends- well, closest friend, singular, prefers to keep his nose clean.He’s not the type to hold a strong presence in the room, or even dominate the conversation. He’s quiet, and mindful. And would really just like to finish out the rest of his college career in peace. So it’s no question that his unwavering, slightly over-the-top infatuation with one Yuuri Katsuki is a bit of a problem.

So you all know I’m the biggest fan of college/university AUs, so I had to read this when I saw it on FRF! I love how it’s a reverse AU, I am so obsessed with shy/studious Victor!! (The long hair is also a big bonus haha) Thumbs up!

Much To Do About Everything by DiAnna44, Teen, 5.4k (WIP)Victor and Yuuri don’t like each other. Which is, of course, perfectly acceptable. Except they never shut up about it, and Phichit and Chris, who are both tired of hearing about it and tasked with the duty of being the wonderful best friends that they are, decide to finally do something about it. Starfleet Academy/Star Trek AU.

GIVE ME ALL THE STAR TREK AUs!!! I love this fic already, the rivals aspect is giving me LIFE! I cannot wait to see where the story goes!

Jackpotby Ashida, Explicit, 5.6k”Did you think you could get away with it again, Yuuri? Or are you getting greedy?“ Victor drawled low, taunting, trying to bring that person he knew out so they could keep playing.There was no point in Katsuki Yuuri denying it though, they’d played this game for years now. "Maybe I just wanted your attention?” Yuuri looked up and smirked something mischievous, something sinister. That guise melted into the wicked thing that Yuuri was, and Victor knew he was the one who’d been caught.

*fans self* Oh my lord this is SUCH a good one-shot! Gambler extraordinaire!Yuuri??? Married to a rich casino owner Victor??? This. Is. Everything.

This was such a fun and entertaining fic! Light and easy read, you have to check this out!

Falling For Your Charmsby Reiya, Teen, 12k (WIP)Professor Katsuki’s crush on Professor Nikiforov is supposed to be a great secret. So naturally, the whole school knows.

I was really feeling the Harry Potter AUs this week, apparently, and I’m so glad I was! This is SUCH an amazing fic by one of my favourite authors, and made me fall in love with this AU all over again. Must read!

An overdue list of my favourite pieces and fic writers! The following is a collection of Jungkook x reader fics. A big thank you to all the fic writers included for inspiring me and above all sharing such amazing stories!

wow! this book truly is the holy grail of picture books, and I’m so happy to finally be assured that feminist books are becoming more and more accessible to young children!

because that’s what this book is - feminist, and unapologetically so. 100 women to inspire the young girls of the world, and 100 women to teach young boys respect towards their peers (and 100 women to make a book blogger very happy) - now that’s something a lot of picture books are simply incapable of doing with their princess, damsel in distress business.

I have no idea how to even begin telling you how gorgeous every single illustration in this book is, so here are a few of my favourite pages!